Angry fathers protest over visitation rights

Protesters attempted to hand Christmas presents to the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell today, to highlight the number of fathers prevented from seeing their children over the holidays.

A group of men gathered outside the minister’s office in Dublin with wrapped gifts and teddy bears, urging Mr McDowell to change the law which they claim discriminates against fathers.

Some of the fathers had been unable to give their children the presents because of custody battles, they said.

The Unmarried Fathers of Ireland want to see changes in the law and the family courts so men are treated more equally.

“We want to give our presents and we want to give our love,” the group’s spokesman Ray Kelly said.

Mr Kelly said many unmarried and separated fathers were unable to see their children over Christmas because the courts and legislation prevented them getting custody or visitation rights.

“We’re asking for radical change,” he said.

Mr Kelly said the group wanted rights given to unmarried and separated fathers and to the children at the centre of these conflicts.

He said they wanted to see the Irish Constitution and European law enacted in the area of father’s rights.

“We also want judges trained in the area of family law, specifically trained so they understand the difficulties, problems and emotions,” he said.

One of the protesters, Francis Kelly, who was able to see his two daughters on Chistmas Day, said the problems the men faced were the result of a failure to update the law.

“It’s outdated laws, going back years,” he said.

Another father said he had been unable to see his four children properly or regularly over the past two years.

“I had a letter from my son, with a list of presents he wanted, and I had no way of putting them into his hands,” he said.

He said the father wasn’t specifically mentioned in the Irish Constitution and didn’t exist in the eyes of the law.

The protesters gathered on the steps of the Department of Justice holding placards which read ‘When is a father not a father – When he’s Irish’, and ‘Help put the father back into Father Christmas’.

Mr McDowell was out of the country and the men were unable to hand the presents over.

But Mr Kelly said an official in the department had said they would try to set up a meeting for the men with the minister.